Milton Acorn
Biography
Milton Acorn - Photo Courtesy of canpoetry.library.utoronto.ca
James Milton Rhodes Acorn, born on March 30, 1923, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, was an award winning poet and social justice activist. At the age of 18, Acorn enlisted in the army. However, his service was short-lived; he was discharged for an injury that inflicted inner ear damage and hearing loss as a result of a blast onboard the troopship carrying him to Europe. After his discharge, Acorn found employment in different areas, briefly doing clerical work in Moncton, and also working as a carpenter on PEI. In 1950, Acorn turned his attention solely to poetry; he sold his carpentry tools and moved to Montreal in 1951.
In 1956, while in Montreal, Milton Acorn published his first collection, In Love and Anger. From then on Acorn produced an array of poetry in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Charlottetown at different points in his life. In 1969, his collection I’ve Tasted My Blood was published, and though this work was widely acclaimed within the Canadian poetry community, it was overlooked for the 1970 Governor General’s Award. In response to his being overlooked, Acorn was honoured by his peers as the recipient of the Canadian Poet’s Award in 1970, which lead to his title as the “People’s Poet”. Acorn later won the Governor General’s Award in 1976 for his collection The Island Means Minago. In 1977, Acorn received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Prince Edward Island.
Milton Acorn’s poetry frequently focuses on social injustices, motivating the readership to stand up and fight against inequality. Using strong diction and imagery that stirs the reader’s emotions, Acorn inspires activism. In his hometown of Charlottetown on August 20, 1986, Milton Acorn died of a heart condition.
In 1956, while in Montreal, Milton Acorn published his first collection, In Love and Anger. From then on Acorn produced an array of poetry in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Charlottetown at different points in his life. In 1969, his collection I’ve Tasted My Blood was published, and though this work was widely acclaimed within the Canadian poetry community, it was overlooked for the 1970 Governor General’s Award. In response to his being overlooked, Acorn was honoured by his peers as the recipient of the Canadian Poet’s Award in 1970, which lead to his title as the “People’s Poet”. Acorn later won the Governor General’s Award in 1976 for his collection The Island Means Minago. In 1977, Acorn received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Prince Edward Island.
Milton Acorn’s poetry frequently focuses on social injustices, motivating the readership to stand up and fight against inequality. Using strong diction and imagery that stirs the reader’s emotions, Acorn inspires activism. In his hometown of Charlottetown on August 20, 1986, Milton Acorn died of a heart condition.
Knowing I live in a dark age before history,
I watch my wallet and
am less struck by gunfights in the avenues
than by the newsie with his dirty pink chapped face
calling a shabby poet back for his change.
The crows mobbing the blinking, sun-stupid owl;
wolves eating a hamstrung calf hind end first,
keeping their meat alive and fresh. . .these
are marks of foresight, beginnings of wit:
but Jesus wearing thorns and sunstroke
beating his life and death into words
to break the rods and blunt the axes of Rome;
this and like things followed.
Knowing that in this advertising rainbow
I live like a trapeze artist with a headache,
my poems are no aspirins. . . they show
pale bayonets of grass waving thin on dunes;
the paralytic and his lyric secrets;
my friend Al, union builder and cynic,
hesitating to believe his own delicate poems
lest he believe in something better than himself:
and history, which is yet to begin,
will exceed this, exalt this
as a poem erases and rewrites its poet.
Published in Jawbreakers. Contact Press, 1963.
Published with permission of Mr. Acorn's Literary Executor and Publisher.
I watch my wallet and
am less struck by gunfights in the avenues
than by the newsie with his dirty pink chapped face
calling a shabby poet back for his change.
The crows mobbing the blinking, sun-stupid owl;
wolves eating a hamstrung calf hind end first,
keeping their meat alive and fresh. . .these
are marks of foresight, beginnings of wit:
but Jesus wearing thorns and sunstroke
beating his life and death into words
to break the rods and blunt the axes of Rome;
this and like things followed.
Knowing that in this advertising rainbow
I live like a trapeze artist with a headache,
my poems are no aspirins. . . they show
pale bayonets of grass waving thin on dunes;
the paralytic and his lyric secrets;
my friend Al, union builder and cynic,
hesitating to believe his own delicate poems
lest he believe in something better than himself:
and history, which is yet to begin,
will exceed this, exalt this
as a poem erases and rewrites its poet.
Published in Jawbreakers. Contact Press, 1963.
Published with permission of Mr. Acorn's Literary Executor and Publisher.
Critical Analysis: Seeking Social Justice: The Call for Change in Milton Acorn’s “Knowing I Live in a Dark Age”
Benjamin Lord (English 4426)
Milton Acorn’s “Knowing I Live in a Dark Age” is a call to arms in order to create a future that benefits all human life, and not just those with economic and social privilege.
The speaker identifies the hardships and realities for those trapped in the bottom echelons of a capitalist economic system; Acorn begins the poem by stating that they live in a “dark age before history” (1). The idea of an age before history leads readers to question what history is and who creates it. The speaker inflicts the view that we are dwelling in a time before victory, as history is written by the victors. Acorn makes clear that the capitalist society in which we lie accepts as normal violence, atrocity, and greed:
I watch my wallet and
am less struck by gunfights in avenues
than by a newsie with his dirty pink chapped face
calling a shabby poet back for his change (2-5).
The honourable action of the newspaper seller provides the reader with a sense of hope, as it demonstrates solidarity amongst the downtrodden despite the culture of individualism created by capitalism. Victory for the working class will come, and a new history will begin.
Acorn jolts his readers with the grotesque image of “wolves eating a hamstrung calf hind end first/keeping their meat alive and fresh” (7-8). This speaks to reality of the working class who are fed off of in a way that allows them to live, reproduce, and continue to nourish capitalist wolves. In contrast, Acorn references Christ as the figure who develops consciousness and history:
but Jesus wearing thornes and sunstroke
beating his life and death into words
to break the rods and blunt axes of Rome;
this and like things followed (10-13).
Acorn depicts Jesus as the founder of social consciousness and collectivism. Jesus’s ultimate sacrifice was altruistic - done not for personal gain, but for the good of humankind. This is when history truly begins. The speaker holds that capitalist greed has been destructive to the socialist teachings of Christ, creating a prehistoric society in which the elite prey on the economically disadvantaged working class.
The speaker depicts our current economic system as unstable and prone to inflicting In saying that he lives in an “advertising rainbow,” the speaker compares his way of life to an optical illusion (14). Thus, Acorn suggests that the illusion produced by consumer capitalism distorts our perception of reality. The working class cannot help but live like “trapeze artist[s] with a headache,” as the slightest slip could result in falling into the depths of poverty, and there is no safety net (15).
Acorn’s speaker states that “his poems are no aspirins,” meaning he does not seek to mask pain but expose it (16). Once the downtrodden are agitated and united, the culmination of the pain produced by consumer capitalism, and the pursuit of individual interest, will serve to shift the speaker’s society from its prehistoric “dark age,” into the age of history (1):
And history, which is yet to begin,
Will exceed this, exalt this
As a poem erases and rewrites its poet (22-24).
The victory of the working class will follow this poem, which depicts a dark age of inequality and individualism. The working class has not succeeded in ending the dark reign of the capitalist regime, but the speaker asserts that it will happen.
Works Cited (for analysis):
Acorn, Milton. “Knowing I Live In A Dark Age”. Jawbreakers. Toronto: Contact Press, 1963. 54. Print.
Milton Acorn’s “Knowing I Live in a Dark Age” is a call to arms in order to create a future that benefits all human life, and not just those with economic and social privilege.
The speaker identifies the hardships and realities for those trapped in the bottom echelons of a capitalist economic system; Acorn begins the poem by stating that they live in a “dark age before history” (1). The idea of an age before history leads readers to question what history is and who creates it. The speaker inflicts the view that we are dwelling in a time before victory, as history is written by the victors. Acorn makes clear that the capitalist society in which we lie accepts as normal violence, atrocity, and greed:
I watch my wallet and
am less struck by gunfights in avenues
than by a newsie with his dirty pink chapped face
calling a shabby poet back for his change (2-5).
The honourable action of the newspaper seller provides the reader with a sense of hope, as it demonstrates solidarity amongst the downtrodden despite the culture of individualism created by capitalism. Victory for the working class will come, and a new history will begin.
Acorn jolts his readers with the grotesque image of “wolves eating a hamstrung calf hind end first/keeping their meat alive and fresh” (7-8). This speaks to reality of the working class who are fed off of in a way that allows them to live, reproduce, and continue to nourish capitalist wolves. In contrast, Acorn references Christ as the figure who develops consciousness and history:
but Jesus wearing thornes and sunstroke
beating his life and death into words
to break the rods and blunt axes of Rome;
this and like things followed (10-13).
Acorn depicts Jesus as the founder of social consciousness and collectivism. Jesus’s ultimate sacrifice was altruistic - done not for personal gain, but for the good of humankind. This is when history truly begins. The speaker holds that capitalist greed has been destructive to the socialist teachings of Christ, creating a prehistoric society in which the elite prey on the economically disadvantaged working class.
The speaker depicts our current economic system as unstable and prone to inflicting In saying that he lives in an “advertising rainbow,” the speaker compares his way of life to an optical illusion (14). Thus, Acorn suggests that the illusion produced by consumer capitalism distorts our perception of reality. The working class cannot help but live like “trapeze artist[s] with a headache,” as the slightest slip could result in falling into the depths of poverty, and there is no safety net (15).
Acorn’s speaker states that “his poems are no aspirins,” meaning he does not seek to mask pain but expose it (16). Once the downtrodden are agitated and united, the culmination of the pain produced by consumer capitalism, and the pursuit of individual interest, will serve to shift the speaker’s society from its prehistoric “dark age,” into the age of history (1):
And history, which is yet to begin,
Will exceed this, exalt this
As a poem erases and rewrites its poet (22-24).
The victory of the working class will follow this poem, which depicts a dark age of inequality and individualism. The working class has not succeeded in ending the dark reign of the capitalist regime, but the speaker asserts that it will happen.
Works Cited (for analysis):
Acorn, Milton. “Knowing I Live In A Dark Age”. Jawbreakers. Toronto: Contact Press, 1963. 54. Print.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Acorn, Milton. Against a league of liars. Toronto: Hawkshead Press, 1960.
---. The Brain's the Target. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1960.
---. Captain Neal MacDougal & the Naked Goddess: A Demi-prophetic Work as a Sonnet-series. Charlottetown: Ragweed Press, 1982.
---. Dig Up my Heart: Selected Poems 1952-83. Toronto: McLelland and Stewart, 1983.
---. Hundred Proof Earth. Toronto: Aya Press, 1988.
---. I Shout Love and Other Poems. Toronto: Aya Press, 1987.
---. I Shout Love; On Shaving Off his Beard. Toronto: Village Book Store Press, 1971.
---. The Island Means Minago. Toronto: NC Press, 1975.
---. I've Tasted my Blood: Poems 1956 to 1968. Selected by Al Purdy. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1969.
---. Jackpine Sonnets. Toronto: Steel Rail Educational Pub., 1977.
---. Jawbreakers. Toronto: Contact Press, 1963.
---. More Poems for People. Toronto: NC Press, 1972.
---. The Northern Red Oak: Poems for and about Milton Acorn. Toronto: Unfinished Monument Press, 1987.
---. A Stand of Jackpine: Two Dozen Canadian Sonnets. Toronto: Unfinished Monument Press, 1987.
---. To Hear the Faint Bells. Hamilton: Hamilton Haiku Press, 1996.
---. The Uncollected Acorn. Toronto: Deneau, 1987.
---. Whiskey Jack. Toronto: HMS Press, 1986.
Secondary Sources
Acorn, Milton. The Edge of Home: Milton Acorn from the Island. Ed. Anne Compton. Charlottetown: Island Studies Press, Institute of Island Studies, 2002.
Deahl, James. "Living in a Dark Age: Milton Acorn and Modernism." Dalhousie Review. 94.2 (2014): 274.
Doyle, James. “‘For My Own Damn Satisfaction’: the Communist Poetry of Milton Acorn." Canadian Poetry. (1997): 74-87.
Gibbs, Robert. "Whiskey Jack." Journal of Canadian Poetry. 3 (1988): 1-3.
Goldie, Terry. "Milton Acorn: in Love and Anger." University of Toronto Quarterly. 70.1 (2000).
In Love and Anger: Milton Acorn - Poet. Directed by Kent Martin, National Film Board of Canada, 1984.
Jewinski, Ed, and John Thurston. "Milton Acorn & His Works." Journal of Canadian Poetry. (1992): 177-87.
Lemm, Richard. "Milton Acorn: Poet in a Dark Age." Arts Atlantic. 7.3 (1988): 50-51.
Lemm, Richard. Milton Acorn: In Love and Anger. Ottawa: Carleton University Press, 1999.
Moscovitch, Philip. "#MyNFB: In Love and Anger: Philip Acorn - Poet." NFB Blog, blog.nfb.ca, 20 Sept. 2019. Accessed 22 June 2020.
Neilson, Shane. Dr. Acorn or: How I Joined the Canadian Liberation Movement and Learned to Love the Stern Nurse Fusion-Bomb
O'Grady, Thomas. "Advice from Milton Acorn." Canadian Literature. 97.155 (1997).
O'Grady, Thomas. "(Ap)praising Milton Acorn." Canadian Literature. 98.158 (1998).
Pearce, Jon. "The Idea of a Poem: an Interview with Milton Acorn." Canadian Poetry: Studies, Documents, Reviews. 21 (1987): 93-102.
Richards, David A. "Milton Acorn." Antigonish Review. 2012.171, (2012).
Singleton, M. "Milton Acorn: the Last Days." Antigonish Review. (1988): 64.
Tremblay, Tony. The Fiddlehead Moment. Montreal: McGill-Queen's UP, 2019. 188-189.
Acorn, Milton. Against a league of liars. Toronto: Hawkshead Press, 1960.
---. The Brain's the Target. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1960.
---. Captain Neal MacDougal & the Naked Goddess: A Demi-prophetic Work as a Sonnet-series. Charlottetown: Ragweed Press, 1982.
---. Dig Up my Heart: Selected Poems 1952-83. Toronto: McLelland and Stewart, 1983.
---. Hundred Proof Earth. Toronto: Aya Press, 1988.
---. I Shout Love and Other Poems. Toronto: Aya Press, 1987.
---. I Shout Love; On Shaving Off his Beard. Toronto: Village Book Store Press, 1971.
---. The Island Means Minago. Toronto: NC Press, 1975.
---. I've Tasted my Blood: Poems 1956 to 1968. Selected by Al Purdy. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1969.
---. Jackpine Sonnets. Toronto: Steel Rail Educational Pub., 1977.
---. Jawbreakers. Toronto: Contact Press, 1963.
---. More Poems for People. Toronto: NC Press, 1972.
---. The Northern Red Oak: Poems for and about Milton Acorn. Toronto: Unfinished Monument Press, 1987.
---. A Stand of Jackpine: Two Dozen Canadian Sonnets. Toronto: Unfinished Monument Press, 1987.
---. To Hear the Faint Bells. Hamilton: Hamilton Haiku Press, 1996.
---. The Uncollected Acorn. Toronto: Deneau, 1987.
---. Whiskey Jack. Toronto: HMS Press, 1986.
Secondary Sources
Acorn, Milton. The Edge of Home: Milton Acorn from the Island. Ed. Anne Compton. Charlottetown: Island Studies Press, Institute of Island Studies, 2002.
Deahl, James. "Living in a Dark Age: Milton Acorn and Modernism." Dalhousie Review. 94.2 (2014): 274.
Doyle, James. “‘For My Own Damn Satisfaction’: the Communist Poetry of Milton Acorn." Canadian Poetry. (1997): 74-87.
Gibbs, Robert. "Whiskey Jack." Journal of Canadian Poetry. 3 (1988): 1-3.
Goldie, Terry. "Milton Acorn: in Love and Anger." University of Toronto Quarterly. 70.1 (2000).
In Love and Anger: Milton Acorn - Poet. Directed by Kent Martin, National Film Board of Canada, 1984.
Jewinski, Ed, and John Thurston. "Milton Acorn & His Works." Journal of Canadian Poetry. (1992): 177-87.
Lemm, Richard. "Milton Acorn: Poet in a Dark Age." Arts Atlantic. 7.3 (1988): 50-51.
Lemm, Richard. Milton Acorn: In Love and Anger. Ottawa: Carleton University Press, 1999.
Moscovitch, Philip. "#MyNFB: In Love and Anger: Philip Acorn - Poet." NFB Blog, blog.nfb.ca, 20 Sept. 2019. Accessed 22 June 2020.
Neilson, Shane. Dr. Acorn or: How I Joined the Canadian Liberation Movement and Learned to Love the Stern Nurse Fusion-Bomb
O'Grady, Thomas. "Advice from Milton Acorn." Canadian Literature. 97.155 (1997).
O'Grady, Thomas. "(Ap)praising Milton Acorn." Canadian Literature. 98.158 (1998).
Pearce, Jon. "The Idea of a Poem: an Interview with Milton Acorn." Canadian Poetry: Studies, Documents, Reviews. 21 (1987): 93-102.
Richards, David A. "Milton Acorn." Antigonish Review. 2012.171, (2012).
Singleton, M. "Milton Acorn: the Last Days." Antigonish Review. (1988): 64.
Tremblay, Tony. The Fiddlehead Moment. Montreal: McGill-Queen's UP, 2019. 188-189.
